But amid North Korea's and the US's escalating rhetoric and
military pressure, one option has emerged that's only slightly
less desirable than all-out combat: perpetual brinkmanship.

North Korea last month tested what it said was a nuclear-capable
intercontinental ballistic missile — but one successful test is
hardly a strong track record, and it will most likely have to
continue testing, according to Yun Sun, an expert on North Korea
and China at the Stimson Center.

And though the US has its top-of-the-line jets in South Korea for
the exercise, it could still ratchet up pressure more — for
example, Sun said, by engaging in covert, unattributable military
actions against North Korea's nuclear infrastructure or stepping
up cyberattacks.

Both sides are scared to shoot first

US
President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a
TV screen in Seoul, South Korea.Ahn
Young-joon/AP

"Deterrence is the main issue here," Sun told Business Insider.

And now more than ever, both sides are deterred from conflict.

With a credible ICBM, North Korea can more comfortably keep the
US from striking, as it could retaliate with nuclear power. And
as the world unites against a rogue, nuclear-capable Pyongyang,
Washington's mandate to protect US citizens and crush any
aggression from North Korea against US allies has also crested.

Essentially, despite the deep differences bitter tensions, the US
and North Korea have deterred each other from attacking — much
like the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Over decades, the US and the Soviet Union butted heads
continually over national security and foreign policy, but
because of nuclear deterrence, war never broke out.

Today, the US is entering a similar relationship with North
Korea, but it may be less dangerous — North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un's influence is mainly limited to his small, impoverished
country, whereas the Kremlin during the Cold War proved adept at
bolstering enemies of the US wherever they were.

No end in sight to the North Korean crisis

Kim
with North Korean troops.KCNA via
Reuters

The US and North Korea have fundamentally different views
of what a peace process would entail, and war would mean
Pyongyang's absolute destruction.

"This cycle of tensions is going to continue for a while," Sun
said.

The US, meanwhile, has pursued a diplomatic strategy of
"maximum pressure" on North Korea, which has struggled amid
sanctions designed to wither its economy and, ultimately, halt
its nuclear program.